Monday, January 28, 2008

misunderstanding

So Abbie has decided she is a big girl and doesn’t need to sleep with a pull up or diaper any longer. Too bad she hasn’t had that conversation with her bladder yet. Fortunately/unfortunately she hasn’t been waking up when she wets. Fortunately because I’m not getting up in the middle of the night, unfortunately because how will she learn if she doesn’t wake up.

I was thinking about switching to no pull up, but she asked Saturday night if she could skip the pull up and we are going with it. She goes before she gets in bed, goes just before we go to bed and the plan is to head in just as she gets up, in fact I woke her this morning to take her and she’d already gone. Suggestions are welcome. Thank heaven for a water proof sheet and a washer/dryer in our house.

Oh, for those of you who knew about the stickers for sleep deal, we FINALLY made it to noodles. It only took 24 days to get 10 stickers!

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Thanks Grandpa!!

Check it out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZqzUmwBOsk

by the way, it's apparently so cold here that schools all over the land are cold so Abbie gets a stay home day. So sad I won't be staying with her and daddy gets her all to himself :( -24 is on the schedule for tomorrow. FUN FUN.

hey that's mine

I know it happens, eventually every child decides to dig through their mothers purse. Looking for money, mints, keys lord knows what, but something they HAVE TO HAVE. I just did notrealize it would happen so soon.

I was on the phone last night and Abbie asked for some gum, she LOVES HER SOME GUM, and I said ok hang on. I knew there wasn’t any in the house so I’d have to go out to the car. I turn around and there she is elbow deep in my purse looking through it like she owns it. You know when you are in line at the store, are late getting back from lunch and some crazy fool is emptying their purse to find exact change, yea that’s what she looked like. I just cracked up. She put it down when I asked her to stop but I just thought I’d have a couple more years before she realized my purse is where the good stuff is hidden.

She got the gum by the way, it was in the car, now it’s in my purse where she said it belongs.

Sunday, January 20, 2008

3 1/2 years really?

It's been almost 3 1/2 years since Abbie begrudgingly came into this world. It's hard to imagine life before her. I mean I know there used to be days I could sleep forever and just run out of the house only grabbing my keys and wallet, but that sounds more like a story than my life these days.

I'm so glad she's here though. I honestly thought it would never happen and then the fact that she took her own sweet time was just to be expected. She is without a doubt the best thing I've ever done and always will be. Even when she's 16 and hates me.

Ironically she's not here today. She's spending today & tomorrow with my parents, so for a really short time I'll be able to remember what it was like when she didn't live here. Rick and I are going out tomorrow, just to the book store and dinner but without the extra buckling, potty stops and picking a restaurant that will for sure have chocolate milk and crayons. We'll end up somewhere with crayons though I'm sure.

This weekend they went to stl and I stayed home. Everyone said I would love sleeping late. Well Saturday I woke at 6 before the alarm and Sunday the alarm wasn't on so I slept until 7:30. I remember when I was little and my mom would be dressed and fed by the time I got up and I never understood it, I'm still not sure I do, but I'm getting to be that way. No matter what I don't sleep too late. For me sleeping until 9 is like sleeping the day away. Last night I had 1/2 a bottle of wine for dinner and still up at 7:30. Now I didn't get out of bed until 11, but I was awake watching stupid things on tv, but still up at 7:30. Even Abbie has been sleeping later than me these days which is nice. I love to catch her as she wakes up, reminds me of that first day with her all those days ago. All one thousand two hundred seventy nine of them.

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

I'm going to say it anyway...

I’m sure anyone who has a child and any other care giver involved with that child (spouse, grandparent, neighbor, baby sitter, daycare, the family dog) is going to say they’ve been through what I’m going to whine about and will tell me this too shall pass. Too bad, I’m going to whine anyway, so it’s ok if you stop reading now J

I love my daughter, I really do. I don’t even mind being the one who’s ALWAYS home with her. My hubby travels for work and for fun, every trip is a combination, and that’s ok. He does what he loves and for that we are all grateful. However, what a kick in the teeth it is when he comes home from a day or week of being gone and Abbie drops me like a hot potato! Seriously! Sunday he comes home after being gone ALL DAY and you would think I had beaten her for the entire day the way she latched onto him. He can be gone for a week and get exactly the same response. She refuses to talk to him on the phone, says she’s mad he is gone, but as soon as she hears the garage door or hears him coming you would think she has no mommy.

So last night I figure fine, give them some time together. I decided to put in an exercise tape (yes exercise, stop laughing) and do my thing while they play and do the bed time thing. You would have think I said I was leaving for a journey around the globe. I think the 3rd or 4th time I told her to go back to bed she had a MELT DOWN. Serious meltdown. I heard Rick go in to talk to her and she said I was being mean. How is it that he can go away for days at a time, come home and be a hero, but I take 30 minutes and I’m the evil monster.

I know, this too shall pass.

Saturday, January 05, 2008

last post for the day

How old are you. I feel much older knowing that I am 12,100 days old, not to mention

1,045,440,000 seconds that's a billion isn't it! I never thought I'd have a billion anythings, so I guess a billion seconds is a good start :)
17,424,000 minutes
290,400 hours
1728 weeks (rounded down)

try it out how old are you

http://www.timeanddate.com/date/duration.html

pictures maybe

Abbie got a camera for Christmas, here's the link to what she's taken pictures of so far. If she's not in the picture she actually took it, some of them are pretty good I think, what do you think?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lovemyabbie/show/

Friday, January 04, 2008

an Abbie post

Enough of the stuff about other people or what's bugging me. Some Abbie stuff at last :)

We've been busy between Christmas and New Years. Christmas morning in the chaos of paper and toys and everything Abbie looked at me and said "This is more presents than I had in my whole life" It was the sweetest thing ever, but man did that set me up for next year. And it wasn't even that big of a pile! She loved the puzzles & scooter & doll house, I really think she did, and she's still playing with them. She ran over baby Jesus a million times with the RC car I won at work, so that's going on a shelf until she's got better eye hand coordination. I got her some dolls that I should have kept for next year, but that's ok, there's always one of those gifts right?

She got a digital camera from my mom. I will put the software on my computer and upload some shots she took, some are fabulous, others look like those pictures people swear are ghosts or auras or what ever spooky thing is popular that year. About the camera her comment was "this is just what I wanted" Remember when something could be just what you wanted when you never imagined it before! The magic of Christmas. I think she's really brought that back for both Rick and me, and we needed it.

I spent an hour in her room tonight doing puzzles with her. SHE LOVES A PUZZLE, mommy not so much, never really been a puzzle girl, but watching her figure out the ones she says she just can't do is so much fun for me and for her. She even cleaned up before getting out the next puzzle.

Today I rearranged her room in the hopes that moving her bed would help with the sleep problem, she is just not sleeping. I thought maybe because her bed faced the door and she insists on the door being open that seeing us or just imagining she was seeing us had been part of the problem. So she came home from school to a new lay out, there's more floor space it seems, same amount of furniture, but better layout maybe? Anyway, she said, oh mommy that's just beautiful, but I'll still sleep in your room tonight so you won't be lonely without daddy" Maybe I'll sleep in her bed, cause I don't get much sleep at all when she's in mine :)

k, well I guess that's all the Abbie I have. I'm sleepy and she's finally sleeping so maybe I can for a bit before I feel those size 10 shoes in my ribs....

tell me

I work with a girl who's been pregnant 9 times, NINE TIMES and has zero children here with her. Tell me how that's right. Tell me what to say to her. She managed to give birth to a live child just over 3 weeks ago and a week ago he died, tell me why. Now every time I look at Abbie my heart just breaks for her. Someone called to tell me he'd passed in the middle of one of Abbie's FAMOUS FITS. She's willful, stubborn and has more energy than anything I've ever seen when she's throwing one, and quite often in the midst of one just when I want to give up and am wondering what in the hell was I thinking something happens to remind me just how lucky we really are. Last Saturday it was Elaine calling to tell me that my co worker had lost the baby she'd been hoping and praying for so long. How dare I be frustrated with my perfectly healthy 3 year old, the screaming coming from her mouth proving that she's COMPLETELY AND TOTALLY HEALTHY. How selfish I felt wishing for a more easy going child, one who just went along with things. You know the kind you think everyone else has. I have friends who's kids always "seem" perfect, cousins with children I've never seen throw a fit and I always feel like such a failure of a mom around them. I'm done feeling that way. I do my best with Abbie and that's just all there is. I need to stop worrying so much about the crazy things she does, or the times she's screaming or not sleeping or insisting to have things her way, and be happy and thankful for those times, knowing that there are children who can't, parents who can't hear their kids scream or laugh or fight or anything because they are gone or sick or something.

All the blogs are talking about resolutions for new years, losing weight, being better with money, keeping houses clean, desks organized and lawns cut, well those are all wonderful resolutions and I've got a couple like that, but I think the most important resolution I'll make is to appreciate what I actually have, to see it, REALLY SEE IT, and not to focus so much on what I'm missing, don't have, can't do, can't be, forgot to do, will never have time for, things that never really mattered anyway.

Today I'm thankful I woke up next to Abbie in a warm bed and the first thing she did was to giggle and grin at me.
I'm thankful that I was here to hear her say just before she fell asleep last night "Mommy it's so nice to snuggle in the bed"
I'm thankful that although my husband is gone sleeping in a hotel with maid service, eating at restaurants and having fun, he'll be glad to come home on Sunday.
I'm thankful that although my family is crazy and has days I'd rather be away, that I know they are always right there, when I know I need them and even when I didn't know.
I am thankful for my friend Elaine, who always reminds me no matter where I've been I can head anywhere I want to.